Inspector shortage cited in weld issue

A shortage of Navy inspectors contributed to quality problems with ships built at the Gulf Coast yards of Northrop Grumman, a Navy official said Wednesday. Brian Persons, executive director of Naval Sea Systems Command, said that after the Navy looked into the weld problems on destroyers and amphibious ships built as far back as 2002 in Avondale, La., and Pascagoula, Miss., officials concluded there were too few inspectors from the Supervisor of Shipbuilding to ensure the work. NavSea has been adding inspectors over the past several months. (Source: Navy Times, 05/05/10)